Botany Canyon feels like you’re in a different world. The canyon provides a moist forest, moss-covered rocks, and many beautiful streams. This is unexpected when starting, as it feels like an ordinary hike through the ponderosa pines. It’s located just 13 miles outside of Rapid City near Summerset.
The Details
Distance: 5.9 mi (9.5 km) out and back
Duration: 2.5 – 3.5 hours
Difficulty: Moderate. It’s a very rocky terrain and has several stream crossings, but the elevation gain isn’t too bad. You’ll experience most of the incline climbing out of the canyon in one spot.
Elevation Gain: 810 ft (247 m)
Parking: No lot, only an area off the side of the road before the entrance for a handful of cars.
Cost: Free
Coordinates to Parking and Trailhead: 44.18384238377242, -103.38174715914583. Google Maps won’t display Botany Canyon in a search.
How to get there
From Rapid City, take I-90 to Exit 52 for Black Hawk, turn left onto Peaceful Pines Road, and then right onto Sturgis Road. Drive for roughly 5.5 miles before taking a left onto High Meadows Road. Follow this until the T in the road and take a left. You’ll follow this for another short distance before pulling off on your right before a brown and white sign that says “Warning Do Not Block Entrance.” Walk the road on the right (not High Meadows Road), and shortly after, you’ll pass a forest service gate where the trail begins.
Hiking Botany Canyon
Keep in mind there aren’t any trail markers throughout the hike, so it can be easy to wander off the trail. Utilizing an app like AllTrails may be helpful.
The trail starts off pretty unassuming. After passing the forest service gate, continue to keep left at each fork and follow the rocky road. Roughly a mile into the hike, you’ll encounter a set of large rocks on your right. This is where the descent into the canyon begins.
A quarter-mile further down the path will be a wooden barrier to cross through. Then about two miles in total into the hike will be another wooden barrier you can go around on your left.
From that point, I continued to follow the rocky path on the right all the way down. You’ll notice the trail split several times, but I kept to the right until I got to the bottom of some rock steps. A sign stating closed to motorized vehicles and a wooden barrier is on the left.
After walking past the barrier and sign, make your way down along the stream or hug the wall to your right for a short distance. This leads to the trail in the canyon. Here you’ll find mossy rocks, several trees, and the stream trickling. This occurs at about the 2.5-mile point and is the portion of the trail that makes the hike so great.
Following the trail in the mossy area of Botany Canyon
Following the path can be difficult at times, but follow the stream, and you won’t be far off track. Doing so requires crossing the stream multiple times, so there is the possibility of getting your feet wet. Follow it for as long as you wish before turning back.
As of October 2021, there are a lot of fallen trees that serve as a barrier to getting further downstream. You may have to go over or under quite a few. Take your time and enjoy the sights and sounds. Odds are, there will be few if any people around.
My recording of the hike can be found here.
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